NEW DELHI: Amid the blitz by Modi government functionaries on the Supreme Court over appointment of judges, bail orders, pendency and vacations, Congress member Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday warned that the BJP regime is scheming to “delegitimise the judiciary”, which is in line with its bid “to undermine the institutions which stand in its way”.
She also questioned the government’s refusal to allow a debate in Parliament on Chinese incursions, saying it was required to shed light on what was emboldening the neighbour and why was the trade deficit with Beijing ballooning despite its belligerence. She said BJP’s divisive policies of “spreading hatred and targeting some sections of our society” were making national unity harder against foreign threats.
Addressing the Congress parliamentary party attended by AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia said, “A troubling new development is the calculated attempt under way to delegitimise the judiciary. “Ministers – and even a high constitutional authority – have been enlisted to making speeches attacking the judiciary on various grounds…,” she said, the remark an unnamed reference to attacks by law minister Kiren Rijiju and RS chairman Jagdeep Dhankar on the SC over the collegium system and the 2015 judgment striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission which was to replace collegium.
On China, she said the government’s stubborn refusal to discuss the issue has left parties and people “ignorant” of the ground situation on the border. “What is the government’s policy to deter China? Given the high trade deficit with China, why is there no economic response to China’s military hostility,” she said.
In the morning, 12 parties jointly staged a protest near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Parliament complex on the China issue.